Sugar Rush: Nightmare Arcade
by TheDisneyFan365
Summary: After Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle return from a trip through time, they find a drastically changed Litwak's Arcade. While they were gone, a villain named Overdrive went back in time and altered events during the movie so he could take over the arcade. So now it's up to Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle to set things right. Sequel to Sugar Rush: Taffy Girl VS Recolor.
1. Arriving In An Alternate Present

**Chapter 1: Arriving In An Alternate Present**

 _Note: Overdrive is owned by supersaiyanjin219._

* * *

 _"Location: Litwak's Arcade, The World Of Disney, April 16th 2109"_

One day, Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle were arriving at the arcade after a long day. Earlier that morning, Candi had found Peter's old DeLorean time machine in a tunnel at the castle, and she had suggested to Swizzle and Adorabeezle that they should go to another time and see what it was like. They agreed and visited the time of the dinosaurs in the real world at the beginning of time. After exploring for a bit, they got back into the DeLorean and returned to 2109.

The DeLorean started slowing down from 88 while hovering in the air, thanks to an anti-gravity that Peter had installed while building it back in 2015. Swizzle and Adorabeezle looked around nervously. Candi, who was driving, had chosen to take them to the nighttime of their date.

"Are we back?" Swizzle asked.

Candi glanced down at the time circus and nodded.

"We're back." Candi replied.

She looked down and spotted Niceland. She dived down and landed beside the apartment. Swizzle and Adorabeezle jumped out from the DeLorean, and they turned back to Candi.

"If you need me, I'll be at my castle." Candi said.

Adorabeezle nodded.

"Alright, Candi." Adorabeezle said.

Swizzle turned around and frowned in confusion.

"Hey, guys? Is it me or does Niceland seem... different?" Swizzle asked.

Candi and Adorabeezle turned around. Sure enough, there was a lack of activity and silence, which was unusual for the game. There was also newspapers and trash on the ground, and the ground floor of the apartment building was covered with graffiti. But the strangest thing was that East Niceland was no longer there. Candi got out of the DeLorean and frowned.

"That's weird. Where is everyone? And what happened to the game?" Candi asked.

Adorabeezle frowned.

"I don't know." Adorabeezle replied.

Suddenly, the apartment door opened up, and someone appeared in the doorway. The figure noticed Swizzle and Adorabeezle, and they gasped.

"Swizzle? Adorabeezle?" the figure asked.

Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle turned around. Standing before them was Rancis, but he looked different. His face looked smaller, his hair was messy, and there were faint scars that crossed his body at several places.

"Rancis? What happened to you?" Candi asked in shock.

Rancis turned to Candi.

"Who are you?" Rancis asked in confusion.

Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle became confused.

"What do you mean? I'm your friend, remember? Candi DiCaramello Owens? I'm Crumbelina and Timothy's daughter." Candi replied.

Rancis frowned.

"What are you talking about? Crumbelina was never married and she never had a daughter, and I've never met you before in my life." Rancis replied, still not looking convinced.

Adorabeezle frowned.

"Well, can you at least tell us what happened here?" Adorabeezle asked.

Rancis hesitated to speak from a combination of faint memories and sorrow that flashed behind his eyes quickly. He began to think, seeing a few scenes of the past fly by in red hues. He took a moment to speak.

"Overdrive. He destroyed everything." Rancis replied with anger in his voice.

"Overdrive?" Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle asked simultaneously, exchanging looks.

"He was a virus that took over Sugar Rush in 2012 and set himself up as our king." Rancis replied. He kicked the dirt in aggravation and explained "He's a monster. He kidnapped the glitch, Vanellope, and no one's seen her since. One by one, he took over every game, hacked it's coding, killed everyone, and turned some of the arcade's most beloved characters into monsters. They were like his minions, helping him kill off the competition and implanting codes into the games to keep them alive during an unplugging. I'm probably the only one left in the arcade that hasn't been affected.".

"Is... is there any way we can help?" Swizzle asked.

Rancis turned away.

"It would be too much to ask, and too dangerous." Rancis replied.

Candi frowned.

"Rancis, don't you remember that we're part of a super hero team called Sugar Rush? And Vanellope is our leader!" Candi asked.

Rancis raised an eyebrow.

"We were never super heroes! And Vanellope was never our leader! She's a glitch that wasn't supposed to exist!" Rancis replied angrily.

Adorabeezle frowned. Obviously, Rancis's memories were locked and he still thought that Vanellope was a glitch. But then she realized that worse things were more important to take care of then his memories.

"Come on, we're the only ones that know about all this, and you need help. We're your friends, Rancis. There's got to be something that we can do." Adorabeezle said.

"Even if you could help, it would be too dangerous and useless." Rancis said.

Rancis shut his eyes and tried wishing away the memories.

"We'll do what it takes." Candi said in a serious tone.

Rancis sighed and looked at her, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle.

"Well... from the knowledge that I have, Overdrive is unstoppable. Although... somthing tells me that Tapper knows what to do." Rancis explained.

"Tapper?" Swizzle asked.

Swizzle looked up through the console screen and saw the Tapper game cabinet. There seemed to be a blue and green blob of some sort in the corner, but the pixels made it blurry. He turned back to Rancis.

"Is the cord still available?" Swizzle asked.

Rancis nodded.

"Yes, it is. The only thing is that I haven't been out of this game in years. I have no idea what's out there waiting for you and what lurks in the games. All I know is that Tapper holds answers that could help all of us." Rancis replied.

Adorabeezle nodded.

"Alright then. Rancis, you stay here while we take care of Overdrive." Adorabeezle ordered.

Candi walked over to the DeLorean and activated a cloaking device for it. She, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle then ran off towards the exit to Niceland. As they ran, Candi turned to Swizzle and Adorabeezle.

"I don't get it, guys. It's like we're in a nightmare or something." Candi said.

"No, this is the arcade. It's just that everything is so wrong." Swizzle said.

Adorabeezle sighed.

"Guys, I think I know what happened. The time continuum has been disrupted, thus creating a new temporal event sequence resulting in an alternative reality." Adorabeezle explained.

"In English?" Candi asked.

"Somewhere in the past, the timeline skewed away from the 2012 that me and Swizzle remember into an alternate 2012. Alternative to the three of us, but reality for everyone else. I think Overload went back in time and made it so that all of the arcade became his." Adorabeezle replied.

"Okay then. We'll stop him and set things right." Swizzle said.

"But what about me? Rancis said that he didn't know me, that mom and dad never got married, and that mom never had me. Do I not exist in this timeline? And if so, how am I still here?" Candi asked.

Adorabeezle sighed.

"Yes, I'm afraid that you don't exist in this timeline. As for why you are still here, I think you caused a paradox. But don't worry. We'll fix everything." Adorabeezle replied.

"But why don't we just use the time machine to go back to 2012 and stop Overdrive then?" Swizzle asked.

"Because we don't know what date Overdrive went back to, and we need to find out how to defeat him before we go back." Adorabeezle replied.

Candi and Swizzle nodded, and they and Adorabeezle reached the cord that led out of the game. They took deep breaths before entering the tunnel of the cord.


	2. Tapper's

**Chapter 2: Tapper's**

Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle cautiously made their way down the tunnel of the cord. They could hardly see what was in front of them, and the only light that lit their way was the occasional minor explosion of sparks that climbed upwards from the course electricity that powered the game. But fortunately, Swizzle, who still had his energy powers even though Sugar Rush never got formed in this timeline, provided some light by having his hands glow, which gave off some light that helped them see where they were going.

Eventually, they reached the end of the cord. They paused for a moment in the tunnel because they saw dim, yellow, and hazy light in the distance, indicating the end of the tunnel that opened to Game Central Station. They stayed quiet, leaving them with the miserable silence. There was no sound, not even a gust of wind.

"I don't like this place." Candi said nervously.

Swizzle sighed.

"Yeah, this timeline is scary. But, we have to continue on and find Tapper. He'll know what to do." Swizzle said.

Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle continued on. They walked towards the light and reached the opening to Game Central Station. The boxed cars of the trolley that once took passengers to and from Fix-It Felix Jr. were off-railed and laying on their sides against the wall. Old blackened bloodstains littered that wall and covered the graffiti that once decorated it with two old rusted halos that laid side-by-side on the floor. The splatter was horrendous, and Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle could only imagine whose it was and how it came to paint the wall in such a way.

They looked away to block it from their thoughts and stared out the archway of the game, where they could already see the piles of ruins that awaited them on the outside. The faint light darkened some of the piles of rubble and created shadows that moved in the corners of their eyes, like phantoms of lost characters that perished there. They slowly stepped out of the archway and surveyed what was around them.

"Oh my mod." Adorabeezle whispered.

Game Central Station looked just as bad as Alternate Game Station did when Dark Vanellope had kidnapped Taffyta, Rancis, Candlehead, and Sticky in the real timeline. Swizzle scowled.

 _"When I get my hands on Overdrive, he's going to wish that he never even messed with time."_ Swizzle thought angrily.

Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle continued forward. Occasionally, they had to use their powers to remove piles of burnt debris that blocked a pathway that led to Tapper's. The path was lined with marks on the floor that resembled silhouettes of game characters that had burned into nothing before dissolving into broken code. Old rusted game coins and medals were scattered about, their bright gleam now faded like the good memories of this timeline's Game Central Station, which Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle had decided to call Nightmare Arcade. It sparked a sorrow in their hearts to see them so useless now.

It took a few minutes for them to reach the opening of Tapper's. The archway was dark, ominous, and cold with a smell that wreaked of the stench of death and rotting wires that were rusted over. The blackness was like a monster that stood guard, waiting to eat anything that set foot inside. But, they had to go in. Tapper knew something, and they had to speak to him if he was still alive. With a deep breath, Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle stepped into the tunnel and made their way down the wire. Several minutes passed by as they cautiously made their way through the tunnel until they reached the barrier of the game. The wire floor ended and merged with old faded hardwood that was covered in dust and thickly dried bloodstains. Candi turned to Swizzle and Adorabeezle.

"Are you guys ready?" Candi asked.

"Yes, but be careful in here. You never know if something could suddenly jump out at us." Adorabeezle replied.

They stepped onto the hardwood and carefully maneuvered through the bar towards the blob of green that Swizzle had seen while in Niceland. Sounds came from the game as it throbbed, like a heavy heartbeat that was mixed with sloshing ooze noises.

The bar tables were filthy and covered in dust, ash, and broken glass. Shards of glass littered the floor, causing Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle's footsteps to create loud crunching sounds. They kept walking towards the sound of beating and sloshing that made steady and quiet breathing. The end corner of the bar was pitch black, and whatever was in the corner was hiding within the shadows unseen. However, they noticed a bright green fluid soaking the floor. It glowed dimly in the light and reflected off a rugged surface that resembled old dirty putty and skin. They could hear slow struggling breaths as they came closer, and the thumping became louder. They stopped and waited a few minutes, staring into the blackness while listening closely to the noises. It didn't seem to be getting closer or louder.

"Survive." a raspy miserable voice said in a heaved manner, as if the being who produced that word was struggling to breathe.

Candi gasped and held her hands over her mouth, and her pupils shrank in terror.

"W-Who... who are you? Come out of the dark and show yourself." Candi ordered nervously.

"I... can't." the voice said in whisper.

Swizzle frowned.

"Why not?" Swizzle asked.

A few seconds passed, and the breathing became heavier and louder. Candi cleared her throat and stood frozen in her place, praying that whatever was speaking to her, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle didn't attack, even though they could most likely fend it off with their powers. Then, in a solemn tone, the voice spoke up, taking in deep breaths between each word.

"The... candle." the voice replied.

Adorabeezle looked around and spotted an old candle on the bar counter with a conveniently placed match next to it. She walked over to the candle, picked up the match, and held it to the wooden surface of the counter.

"When... you see... me... don't... run... please." the voice pleaded.

Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle bit their lip, only imagining what the creature would look like. Adorabeezle then struck the match and lit it, and she held the warm flame over the candle, lighting it. She took the handle in her hand and turned around, only for her, Candi, and Swizzle to be utterly shocked and stricken with a fear and horror that they had not prepared for. Adorabeezle dropped the candle and she, Candi, and Swizzle screamed, while the candle rolled closer to the creature that was in the darkness.

It was a horrendous sight to see. It was a massive body of deformed flesh of pink and green and infected yellows and browns. The skin overlapped itself like melted wax, and sheets of metal armor, deformed and warped, wrapped around the rotting flesh. The flesh itself had stuck and formed to the walls of the corners like glue, and green fluids seeped from the wrinkles of overlapped skin. No arms or legs were on the body, but only a head with a mustache, a red crooked bow, and the remains of a torn red and white-striped shirt that was halfway grown into the actual flesh.

This was Tapper... or what remained of him.

His head hung low and weak, and the flesh that was once his chest expanded and retracted slowly in struggled grunts and breaths. Green fluids dripped down the folds of his mass and from his lips as thick mucus and saliva, coating his uncombed filthy mustache. Strings of flesh hung down like vines and draped themselves across the ceiling and walls.

Candi backed up until she hit the bar counter and moved her bangs from her face to see more clearly. She began to whimper and shutter, while Swizzle and Adorabeezle stared in shock at Tapper.

"Are... are you... Tapper?" Swizzle asked.

"I am... the remnants... of Tapper." Tapper replied quietly.

The candle continued to roll slowly, leaving sparks across the wooden floor.

"What happened to you?" Candi asked, once the fear in her body lowered enough for her to breathe steady.

Yet, Candi's guard wasn't down. She was still frightened after seeing this unnatural sight. Never had she seen such a mutated mess. He looked to be in pain all over, and she could see it in his eyes that were dim with life, as if they begged for death. To her, death for this poor character was a more welcoming fate then this.

"Overdrive... infected me. He turned us... into these monsters. He tried to... turn me... into one too… but the game shut down... before I transformed... completely. I am... incomplete... still alive... still sentient... but incomplete " Tapper replied.

Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle's faces turned into looks of pity and sorrow, and they took a moment to fully take in Tapper's appearance. A broken man that was once normal and pain free was truly a sad sight to see. He had his own game, and characters from all over Game Central Station came to him for help, advice, and to vent to rid themselves of their own pain. But now, he was permanently stuck to the walls and floor, forced to live as a blob of flesh and metal in constant agonizing pain, and there was no one around to help him.

"While we were in Niceland, Rancis Fluggerbutter said that you know how to help us and make all of this better." Swizzle said.

Tapper took in another breath, seeming to struggle more and more.

"We... are a hive... a single mind. We know all that... Overdrive knows. You are a part... of him. We are... a part... of him. We share his memories... his knowledge... his feelings... and his insanity. We... the guardians of... his weaknesses... are infected... with his evil... his mutations..." Tapper explained.

"We? Who is we? Are there more like you? What are his weaknesses?" Candi asked, feeling a surge of fear run down her back and a deep anxiety that caused all of her questions to swirl into a storm.

"Yes... there are three other guardians. I was to be... the fourth... the guardian of knowledge." Tapper replied.

"Who are the other three?" Adorabeezle asked.

"Princess Peach... Sonic... and Pac-Man. They guard the artifacts... that can... harm Overdrive." Tapper replied.

"What are the artifacts?" Swizzle asked.

"No...time." Tapper replied.

As he breathed slower, the candle bumped against the wall, and the flame licked the wall and blackened it until it caught fire. The fire was small, but it quickly spread and began to travel to the floor and over the long strands of Tapper's flesh. He didn't budge as he began to burn. The flames grew taller and taller with each passing second, and the smell of burning flesh filled the dense air. Heat filled the bar quickly, and smoke fogged up what little light there was. Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle gasped, and they backed away from the flames.

"Kids... find the artifacts... take them to Sugar Rush... and defeat Overdrive. Once he is gone... the games will reset. Go now... let me burn." Tapper said.

Tapper hung his head back down low, and the flames quickly consumed him, burning him alive. The bar quickly caught fire, and Swizzle quickly grabbed Candi and Adorabeezle and turned them and himself intangible before flying out of the game. They flew through the cord until they came to Game Central Station, and Swizzle landed on the ground in front of Tapper's game portal, where he let go of Candi and Adorabeezle. Candi looked back into the tunnel, took in a deep clean breath, and wiped the sweat off of her forehead.

"That was close." Candi said. She then turned back to Swizzle and Adorabeezle, and she asked "So, let me get this straight. Overdrive has somehow transformed three of the most popular game characters into monsters that are guarding artifacts that could be used against him? What could they be guarding that's so important?".

Adorabeezle shrugged.

"I don't know. But if we want to make things right, we needed to find one of these 'Guardians', take it down, and retrieve it's artifact. And from what I can concur, each Guardian is in it's own game. We'll start with Princess Peach in Super Mario 81. After that, we'll move onto Sonic Generations and then Pac-Man. Once we have all of the artifacts, we'll head to 2012 and stop Overdrive there, so the timeline returns to normal." Adorabeezle replied.

Candi and Swizzle nodded in agreement.


	3. Princess Peach

**Chapter 3: Princess Peach**

Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle wasted no time in running towards the Super Mario 81 entrance, dodging debris as they went. When they arrived at the game portal, they could see old rotted mushrooms and tainted coins scattered around the opening. This was the place alright. They ran down the tunnel, not minding the darkness so much as before, but a feeling of worry and anxiety still loomed over them. Who knew what awaited at the end of the tunnel? It was nerve-racking. Mutations to say the least were disturbing enough, and the imagery of what these things may look like combined with Overdrive's DNA was even more so.

The light at the end of this tunnel was a bit brighter then the last two, and the three of them slowed their pace, coming to a fast walk rather then a run. They learned to quiet their footsteps, since the idea of the element of surprise being in their favor was the best thing for them. If these mutations worked as a hive, then they obviously had a hive mind. They thought and acted as one. This made them slightly nervous because they knew that if they alerted just one of these creatures, the others would know about it and prepare themselves. But Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle weren't that worried because they would be able to take care of them with their powers.

They came to the end of the tunnel and took a breath before stepping out of the tunnel and onto the old brown grass that was once lush green. It crunched and seemingly turned to ash beneath their feet when they began to walk atop of it. As they walked, they looked around their environment. It was dreary, drained of color, hazy, and charred. Broken and rusted coins laid about in their path, and some would even crunch into dust when they stepped on them. Flowers were wilted all along the path, dried and dead, lifeless for so many decades. Even the clock at the top right-hand corner was lifeless and broken, scattering numbers all about in broken pixels. The whole game was a desolate broken mess, and it was saddening to Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle to see such a wreck of a once beautiful game.

The first level in the Super Mario Bros. section of the game was incredibly easy and unnaturally quiet. Candi jumped up the stairs, Adorabeezle climbed up the side of the wall by digging her claws into the wall, and Swizzle flew up to the top. After getting to the top, Swizzle flew Candi and Adorabeezle off the edge and placed them on the ground beyond the stairs, and they continued forward. They looked up at the flag that flew in the cold soot-filled wind, and they saw a blood red letter O logo printed on it. A look of sorrow and anger draped over their faces as they looked before moving on.

They entered the broken castle behind Overdrive's tall-standing flag, and they felt their bodies warp and pixelate as they walked forward. A rusted green tunnel awaited them. Candi held her breath in fear and shut her eyes as she, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle entered, letting the cold rotting darkness consume them.

A few moments passed as the tunnels loaded, and the atmosphere quickly changed to a cold, damp, dark place. Sounds of water dropping from afar echoed all about like an empty cave, and slime coated the ground. The smell of rotting flesh permeated through the air, making Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle's faces twist into a look of disgust. Candi pulled the collar of her jacket over her nose to help stifle the smell.

"Eugh, it smells like a sewer in here." Candi said as her stomach churned at the strong stench.

Swizzle didn't seem to hear Candi. He peered in front of him in confusion.

"Guys, what's that in front of us?" Swizzle asked, dreading the answer to come.

Candi and Adorabeezle looked forward, but the darkness was too thick.

"I... I can't see." Adorabeezle replied.

As much as Adorabeezle didn't want to get closer to whatever was in front of her, she knew that she had no choice. The only way out was forward. However, little did the three of them know that something was watching them from above, hiding out of sight in the darkness. Swizzle led Candi and Adorabeezle closer to what he saw, and their eyes widened in shock and agonizing fear.

There, against broken blue and gray blocks of bricks, sat the corpse of Mario himself, half-rotted with his head brutally ripped off his body. His head had been nailed to the block of bricks with a long tainted white needle of some kind like that of a porcupine, and it left only a few inches of space between his neck and body. A look of pain was still carved across his face, even in death, and his body was mangled in abnormal ways like his bones had been snapped one by one in different directions. Candi held her mouth and prevented a shriek as she gazed upon the body. She tried to look away by taking her eyes and gluing them to the ground, but it was not a better solution when she read 'HERO' across the ground, written in Mario's own blood. She, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle wasted no time in moving away from the body, and they jumped over it. The creature that watched from above moved with them, and it let out a long quiet hiss. Candi gasped as she heard the echo of it, along with Swizzle and Adorabeezle, and they looked around them. There was nothing but blackness, but they could feel something stalking them, waiting for them to slip up in the slightest way.

"Guys, I'm scared. I feel like something's watching us." Candi said nervously.

"Don't be scared. We're right here. We can do this." Swizzle said reassuingly.

Candi nodded and controlled her breathing. But after a few seconds went by, something large smashed onto the ground in front of them, causing bricks and slime to fly off the sides of the game. Swizzle yelped, and he, Candi, and Adorabeezle moved backwards to avoid the large fuzzy object. Once the dust cleared, they could clearly see what was in front of them. What they saw made their hearts skip several beats.

The figure had bright soulless red eyes that lit up the darkness around it. Long scraggly and tangled blonde curls hung over its twisted face, hiding most of it. It was tall, metallic, and looked half-starved with a feminine chest, but the breasts were pointed in an unattractive fashion. It looked like it had Turbo's body while he was in his Turbug form, only more wasp-like with a down-curved thorax and a thick razor sharp stinger on the end. What was once a bustle now served as decorative armor over it's thorax and four legs. A torn corset served as it's chest, and a golden crown was tall, bent, and resembled horns like a dragon. It had long pink wasp wings that buzzed and twitched as the thing swayed from side to side like a cobra, examining Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle below like a hunter and prey.

"What the heck IS that?" Swizzle asked in horror.

Swizzle looked for a way to escape. The wall behind him and Adoraeezle was easy for them to get over, but it was too hard for Candi to get over because it was too tall and she didn't have a way of climbing over it. Meanwhile, Candi knew what the thing was and gripped the edge of a block of bricks, and she felt one brick come loose in her grip.

"It's Princess Peach, the guardian!" Candi replied.

Princess Peach held her long jagged arms out to the side in a royal fashion and leaned down closer to Candi. She let out a blood-curdling screech that was deafening and painful. Her eyes lit up her dark face, revealing that her jaw was missing, but her mouth had razor sharp teeth and two large mandibles that were attached to the roof of the inside of her mouth. The mandibles opened wide as she screeched, letting purple saliva spray across Candi's face. Candi screamed at the ugly thing's face, and she gripped the loose brick before turning it into a caramel brick and throwing it at Princess Peach's head. The brick shattered on impact, and Princess Peach screeched again in pain and held her face with her long sharp claws. Candi reacted instantly and ran underneath Princess Peach to get past her while the mutation was distracted, and Swizzle and Adorabeezle ran around and followed their friend.

"I have an idea!" Candi yelled to Swizzle and Adorabeezle.

Princess Peach continued to screech before letting out a growl, and she angrily looked at the wall where Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle once stood. Her eyes widened in confusion as she noticed that the three Sugar Rush racers were now gone. Low bellowing growls and gurgles erupted from the thing's throat as it scanned the whole area, and it even looked under her own thorax, looking for her prey. She looked off to the sides as well, becoming frustrated as she did.

"Yoohoo!" a voice called out.

Princess Peach looked up, and she saw Swizzle floating in the air, while Candi and Adorabeezle stood on the top level of bricks with a few broken blocks on the very edge. Princess Peach's eyes widened as Candi coated the blocks in caramel before Swizzle levitated them in the air and dropped them down on Princess Peach. They hit her on her face and head, bending her crown and breaking off one of her mandibles. The sound of crashing bricks and crunching bones echoed throughout the tunnels. Princess Peach let out a scream of pain and held her face once again. Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle were shocked that the impacts didn't kill it, but they were more shocked when Princess Peach began to smash the ground with her claws and burrow into it. She still screamed and snarled as she dug the hole with her claws, and she disappeared faster then they expected. Once she was gone, Swizzle let out a sigh of relief and chuckled.

"HA! Take that, you overgrown bumblebee!" Swizzle said in triumph.

Adorabeezle shook her head. It was too easy, and not only was Princess Peach still functioning, but no artifact was left behind. This wasn't done yet. She looked down into the gaping black hole in the ground.

"Guys, follow her." Adorabeezle ordered.

Candi widened her eyes.

"But... we beat her. She's gone." Candi said.

"No, she's just wounded. Follow her. We need that artifact and we're not leaving until we get it." Adorabeezle ordered.

Candi and Swizzle waited a few seconds before giving in. They and Adorabeezle jumped into the black hole, and they continued to fall for several seconds before feeling the tunnel come to a gradual curve. They slid across the tunnel on their feet and then slid the rest of the way down on their backs until the warm orange glow of light appeared faintly before them. The tunnel came to a horizontal direction, and the three of them slid to a gradual stop. They got up and walked the rest of the way until there was yet another hole in the ground. This was where the light source came from, and they could smell sulfur and brimstone. Candi peered out of the hole upside-down to see a pool of molten lava with a rickety wooden bridge going across it.

No sign of Princess Peach.

Candi jumped down from the tunnel opening and landed on her feet before the bridge. She motioned for Swizzle and Adorabeezle to follow, which they did. They didn't dare set foot on the bridge, and they looked around to try to find the mutation. Eventually, they spotted something across the bridge. All that they could see was a head with blonde hair, looking downwards and away from them, moving as if it was crying. Swizzle squinted suspiciously and watched the figure. He couldn't tell if it was Princess Peach or some other game character.

His question was soon answered when the head turned around and the monstrosity's face was once again revealed with only one mandible. Princess Peach stood up, standing even taller now as she eyed Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle with anger and hunger. They took a step back as Princess Peach began to crawl closer, stepping on the bridge. Somehow, it managed to support her enormous weight, and she raised her stinger. Swizzle gasped.

"Girls, watch the stinger!" Swizzle shouted.

Princess Peach, with a jerk of her thorax, shot a long stinger towards Swizzle like a spear. It was the same exact thing that had been stuck in Mario's head! Swizzle quickly turned intangible, and the stinger went through his body before impaling a wall behind him. Swizzle turned solid, and he, Candi, and Adorabeezle moved behind a block of bricks for cover. Princess Peach began to scream and growl over and over again, continuing to shoot stingers at the brick that Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle hid behind.

"What do we do?" Candi asked, scared and panicking.

Adorabeezle thought for a moment. She closed her eyes, ignoring the horrific noises coming from Princess Peach, until she managed to figure out an idea.

"Okay. Swizzle, move me on the bridge where the first post is." Adorabeezle ordered calmly.

Swizzle swallowed hard.

"Post?" Swizzle asked.

Adorabeezle looked at him.

"Where the rope is tied to keep the bridge up. I have an idea. Just do as I say exactly when I say it." Adorabeezle replied.

Another stinger flew towards her head, and Adorabeezle quickly transformed into her snow beast form and used her claws to sever the stinger before it could hit her.

"Okay, I hope you know what your doing." Swizzle said.

Swizzle spotted a break between Princess Peach's stingers. He used his telekinesis to move Adorabeezle over to the bridge.

"Okay that's it. Now, when I say lift, make me float in the air!" Adorabeezle ordered as she braced herself.

Princess Peach hissed as she readied her thorax, reloading her stingers. Adorabeezle glared back and seemed to hiss in her own way, ready to take the monster down.

"Bring it, you skinny pink brat!" Adorabeezle shouted in a rage.

Princess Peach roared in fury. She slammed both of her claws on the bridge, making the whole game shake violently, and she fired a stinger.

"Lift!" Adorabeezle shouted.

Swizzle used his telekinesis to lift Adorabeezle into the air. The stinger missed her by only a few centimeters and hit the post of the bridge. Instantly, the rope snapped, and one by one, the planks of the bridge fell into the boiling lava. Swizzle lowered Adorabeezle to the ground just on the very edge of where the bridge started, and they and Candi watched the bridge fall. Princess Peach screeched as she tried to back up, but the bridge fell too fast, and she fell along with it. Princess Peach hit the lava and began to melt, sinking as she did. Gruesome screams filled the air as the mutation thrashed all around, trying to escape her ever-so-slow death. Her hair caught on fire and burned off her scalp, her crown wilted as it melted, her eyes exploded from her skull with steam following afterwards, and she sunk deeper into the lava. Lava fell down into her throat, gurgling and muffling her screams until nothing but bubbling lava came from her mouth. Soon, the only thing that stuck out of the lava was her claw, which eventually also sunk below the surface. Candi found it hard to watch, but she took gratitude in watching Princess Peach's death. The arcade was now one monster short.

Then, after a few seconds of silence, something erupted from the lava and flew towards Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle. Before it could hit them, it stopped and made itself clear. An orange, yellow, and white flower with lush green petals floated in the air before them with light emitting from it. It's two black slits of eyes gazed at them with comfort.

"The artifact." Candi whispered in relief.

Candi gently reached out and grabbed it. She held it with great care and smiled as Swizzle and Adorabeezle celebrated.

"Finally! That thing was starting to creep me out." Swizzle said.

Candi put the Fire Flower in the pocket of her skirt and nodded with a smile.

"Alright, now let's get out of here. This place is giving me the creeps." Candi ordered.

Swizzle and Adorabeezle nodded.

"With pleasure." Adorabeezle said.


	4. Miss V, Black And White Thunder

**Chapter 4: Miss V, Black And White Thunder**

Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle made their way out of Super Mario 81, and they found themselves back in Game Central Station.

"Alright, one monster down. Let's head to Sonic Generations and take on Sonic." Swizzle said.

Candi and Adorabeezle nodded.

"Well, I must say that you kids have done really well." a voice said in a smooth tone.

Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle heard the voice, and they looked around in an attempt to find the source of that voice.

"Who's voice was that?" Adorabeezle asked.

Something landed on the ground in front of them. Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle gasped in shock at who it was. It was Vanellope, except she looked different. She wore a black bandanna around her neck, a small black mask on her face that made her eyes and eyebrows appear white, a white hoodie, a black shirt, a black skirt, black and white leggings, and small black boots. Her ponytail was still tied with a Twizzler, but it was black, and she didn't have candies in her hair.

"Vanellope?" Swizzle asked in shock.

Vanellope turned around and glared at them.

"Vanellope? Who's that?" Vanellope asked.

Adorabeezle frowned.

 _"Overdrive must have done something to her to make her forget who she was. And, because of how Rancis had acted earlier, I don't think the reset ever happened. But if that's true, then how was she able to get out of Sugar Rush?"_ Adorabeezle wondered. She then asked "Who are you?".

Vanellope smirked.

"Oh, me? Just one of Lord Overdrive's more promising minions." Vanellope replied with the same smooth voice.

Vanellope spun around in a circle and pointed her arms up in the air, making a V shape.

"Miss V, the Black and White Thunder!" Vanellope introduced.

"Miss... V?" Candi asked in confusion.

"Miss V?" Adorabeezle asked.

"Miss... V? What?" Swizzle asked in anger.

Vanellope approached them and stood in front of them.

"I don't need you to tell me that it's a cool name. I know it. Don't bother memorizing it. Why? Because I'm about to give you a burial worthy of a king." Vanellope sneered.

Vanellope took a few steps back before making the first move in a battle. She jumped right over Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle and glitched down, slamming into the ground and sending off a shockwave of pixels that were red instead of blue. Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle were sent flying in three different directions, and Vanellope turned her gaze to Swizzle.

"Let's start with the boy first." Vanellope sneered.

Swizzle unleashed an energy ray at Vanellope, but she disappeared in a flash of red pixels and reappeared over Swizzle. She fell down and landed her two feet on his head. Swizzle cried out in pain and fell to the ground. Vanellope smirked and turned her attention to Candi, who grew tense under her stare.

"No one's coming to save you this time, girl! Have at you!" Vanellope sneered.

Vanellope disappeared in a flash of red pixels and reappeared over Candi, planning to land a hit on top of her. But Vanellope's attack was blocked when Candi created a cookie dome all around her. Adorabeezle saw that Candi was in danger, and she transformed into her snow beast form and ran to aid Candi.

"Get away from her!" Adorabeezle yelled.

Adorabeezle leaped towards Vanellope. Vanellope noticed, bent her knees as low as they could go, and glitched into the air. She appeared over Adorabeezle and shot a blast of red pixels at her, throwing her onto the ground. Seeing Adorabeezle go down made Vanellope smirk slightly.

 _"Take that, you overgrown yeti."_ Vanellope thought.

A burning sensation drew Vanellope's attention back to her surroundings. She yelped in surprise when she found herself getting burned by an energy blast that Swizzle fired.

"Yeow!" Vanellope cried.

As Vanellope stumbled back, patting herself down to take out the flames, she suddenly got picked up and slammed into the ground by Adorabeezle. Vanellope grunted in pain and got to her feet, but she didn't expect to feel a caramel disk thrown by Candi cut her arm. She growled and looked down at her skirt.

 _"Okay, V, it's time to get serious."_ Vanellope thought.

Vanellope dug through her skirt's pocket and pull out a vanilla shake. The shake was programmed to restore anyone's health if they consumed it.

 _"This should help me get some energy back."_ Vanellope thought.

Before Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle could figure out what she was doing, Vanellope opened the shake and drunk the whole thing down in one gulp.

"Ah, much better." Vanellope said in a sweet tone.

The shake's effect was already working through her systems.

"Now, where were we?" Vanellope asked.

Vanellope glitched into the air. Adorabeezle tried to jump into the air, but Vanellope's was too high for her, and Adorabeezle ended up getting hit with a blast of red pixels. Vanellope then turned her attention to Candi and fired a blast of red pixels at her, but Candi narrowly dodged the other girl's attack by forming a caramel shield. With the caramel themed princess protected, Vanellope refocused her gaze on Swizzle, who shot an energy blast at her. Unfortunately for him, Vanellope managed to glitch out of the way of his attack. However, she wasn't quick enough to dodge the energy blast that came soon after. Vanellope groaned in pain, but she quickly glitched out of the area just as Candi fired a blast of caramel at her.

"Ha!" Vanellope sneered.

But just as Vanellope got her feet on the ground, Adorabeezle managed to cut her on her chest with her claws.

"Ow!" Vanellope cried.

Vanellope glitched away from Adorabeezle, panting as she did because her energy was low. She dug into her pockets again and pulled out a second vanilla shake. But before she could even open it, the shake flew out of her hand.

"Hey!" Vanellope cried.

Swizzle had the shake in his hands now, thanks to his telekinesis.

 _"Well, that's just great."_ Vanellope thought sarcastically.

Vanellope quickly dodged a caramel spike from Candi before firing a blast of red pixels that threw the other girl away.

 _"One last vanilla shake. I have to make it count."_ Vanellope thought.

Vanellope glitched back, creating some distance between herself and the others. Once that was done, she dug through her pockets and pulled out her last vanilla shake.

 _"Third time's the charm."_ Vanellope thought.

However, Swizzle closed the distance between him and Vanellope, and he shot her with an energy blast.

"Ow!" Vanellope cried.

Before she knew it, the shake was taken from her again, leaving her nothing to replenish herself. Vanellope panted heavily. She was tired and her energy level was low. With no more vanilla shakes in her procession, all she could do now was gasp for air and glare at Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle.

 _"Well, I'm definitely not giving up without a fight. I still have some energy left, and I might as well use it."_ Vanellope thought.

Taking in a deep breath, Vanellope jumped into battle with Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle once more. Since her energy was low, she took extra precautions when dodging their attacks. Despite that, she knew that she couldn't keep dodging forever.

After dodging Adorabeezle's claws, Vanellope glitched into the air. She shot a blast of red pixels at Swizzle, who had planned to hit her from behind. Once on the ground again, Vanellope set her sights on Candi.

 _"Those cookie and caramel abilities that she's using are the only source of protection that she has. If I can time my glitches just right, I may be able to catch her by surprise."_ Vanellope thought.

Vanellope continued to elude Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle, dodging every attack that they threw at her until she saw her opportunity to strike.

 _"Now!"_ Vanellope thought.

Vanellope ran away from Swizzle, glitched into the air, and locked target on Candi. Sensing her oncoming attack, Candi surrounded herself in a cookie dome. But Vanellope didn't land on the cookie dome. She landed just a few feet in front of Candi, only doing that to distract her from her real attack. With Candi hiding in her cookie dome, Vanellope took the moment to glitch as high as she could into the air. Candi withdrew the cookie dome and looked around, not knowing where Vanellope had gone. Vanellope smirked as she started falling down.

"Candi, look out!" Adorabeezle shouted.

Candi looked up and gasped. Vanellope prepared for her attack, but instead of landing on the head of a princess, she landed on something hard and spiky.

"YEOW!" Vanellope cried out.

Holding her left foot in pain, Vanellope looked up to see that Candi was protected by a spiky caramel barrier. Vanellope dodged another energy blast from Swizzle and created some distance, where she panted heavily as she tried to think of a plan. She couldn't last much longer. One more hit and she was done.

Taking a risk, Vanellope charged at Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle again. But as soon as she did, they all seemed to disappear. Vanellope stopped running, stunned for a moment before quickly getting into a defensive pose.

 _"Don't forget, V. They could pop out anywhere at any moment."_ Vanellope thought.

Vanellope walked around slowly, turning quickly to any sudden movements. Before she knew it, Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle reappeared and tried to hit her. Swizzle shot an energy ray, but Vanellope quickly glitched out of it's way. She then glitched over a caramel disk before narrowly missing Adorabeezle's claws.

 _"That was close."_ Vanellope thought.

But before she knew it, she was hit from behind. Vanellope fell down onto the ground, her energy drained. All she could do now was lay on the floor, gasping for breath. She couldn't even get up to see who the one to finish her was. She laid on the ground for several minutes, catching her breath. Suddenly, she heard Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle's footsteps coming towards her, and she jumped back onto her feet as best as she could.

"Oof! Impressive!" Vanellope said, clearly out of breath. She glared at them and sneered "I'll let you off the hook for the rest of today, I suppose. But remember this. When Fortune smiles next, she'll smile right HERE, on Miss V!".

Vanellope then ran away. Once she was gone, Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle faced each other.

"That was really unexpected." Candi said.

"Yes, but we need to continue finding the artifacts. If we can do that and defeat Overdrive, we'll be able to help Vanellope and everyone else." Adorabeezle said.

Candi and Swizzle nodded, and they followed Adorabeezle to the Sonic Generations game portal.

* * *

Meanwhile, Vanellope ran as fast as she could, hoping to create some distance between her and the others. They didn't seem to be pursing her, but she knew that she could never be too sure.

 _"I let you off easy this time, kids. But the next time we face off, I'll have to give it my all."_ Vanellope thought.

As soon as she was sure that it was safe, she slowed down to a walk, thinking that running away aimlessly wasn't such a good idea.

"I really hope Sorceress decides to come by and check on me." Vanellope muttered.

"Are you talking about me, V?" a voice asked.

Vanellope jumped and turned around. That timeline's version of Sorceress was floating behind her, looking the same as the normal timeline's Sorceress.

"I saw the whole thing. I'm impressed, V. Despite you losing to those three kids, you held your own against them pretty well." Sorceress said.

Vanellope gave her a small smirk.

"Of course I did. Did you expect any less?" Vanellope asked smuggly.

The former queen shrugged.

"Perhaps. However, you did prove yourself worthy today. I'm sure that Overdrive will be proud." Sorceress replied.

Vanellope rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well, think nothing of it. After all, the Black and White Thunder can do anything if she sets her mind to it." Vanellope said.

"Oh? Is that a hint of overconfidence that I'm sensing?" Sorceress asked.

"Hmm, maybe." Vanellope replied.

"Very well then. We should get going. I suspect a meeting with Overdrive soon." Sorceress said.

"Fine, let's go." Vanellope ordered.

Sorceress landed next to Vanellope and a transcended dome appeared around them both. She snapped her fingers and the two were gone in an instant.


	5. An Elite Member

**Chapter 5: An Elite Member**

Vanellope reappeared in the castle in Sugar Rush, which looked post-apocalyptic. She suspected to find herself in her room, but she was quite surprised to find herself in the throne room, which Overdrive had converted into his Inner Sanctum.

"Hello there, V. It's nice to see you again." a voice said.

Vanellope turned to the source of the voice and gasped. It was Overdrive, who was sitting in what was normally Vanellope's throne, only it was red and black. Overdrive had pale skin, short black hair, and red eyes, and he wore a long black coat, a black shirt, gray gloves, gray pants, and black boots, and he had swords on his back.

"Lord Overdrive!" Vanellope said in shock. She bowed in her leader's presence and said "I'm sorry, my lord. I didn't mean to intrude on you.".

Overdrive shook his head.

"No need, V. I asked Sorceress to bring you here." Overdrive said.

Vanellope turned to Sorceress, who was standing nearby. She waved playfully at Vanellope, and Vanellope turned back to Overdrive.

"Okay, what did I do?" Vanellope asked disappointingly.

"Your not in trouble, V. In fact, this meeting today is dedicated you and your place among us." Tamora, who Overdrive had captured and turned into his bodyguard after taking over the arcade in this timeline, replied.

Vanellope's eyes widened in surprise.

"You mean..." Vanellope started to ask.

Tamora nodded.

"Yes, I do. Congratulations, Miss V. You are now an official member of Overdrive's elite inner group of minions." Tamora replied.

"Welcome to the team, V. You've made me very proud." Overdrive said.

Vanellope bowed to Overdrive once more.

"It's an honor, Lord Overdrive. I can only hope to live up to your expectations." Vanellope said. She then turned to Sorceress, smirked, and said "You heard that, Sorceress? I'm one of you guys now.".

"I always knew you would, my friend." Sorceress said.

"Now, as a show of celebration, Overdrive has dedicated this meeting to you. Just as soon as Turbo and Zangief arrive, we'll tell them the news." Tamora said.

After fifteen minutes, Turbo and Zangief arrived in the throne room, and Tamora gathered them, Vanellope, and Sorceress into a group.

"Turbo, Zangief! Huddle up, okay? So, you all know that Miss V has been with us for the longest time now, and today she has finally become another key competitor against anyone who tries to resist Overdrive." Tamora said.

A cocky, yet playful, smirk appeared on Vanellope's lips.

"Mmm, I can't say that I'm impressed by the minion quality. No, indeed. It's no wonder you've been trounced up to now. Your like JUNIOR minions." Vanellope said.

Zangief laughed in a playful tone.

"JUNIOR?" Zangief asked.

"Gosh, V, but didn't you get pretty beaten? So maybe YOUR the junior!" Sorceress asked in a joking tone.

"Beaten, you say? Ho ho! I was scouting those three kids, dear. They will be mine next time." Vanellope replied. She spun around, did her trademark V pose, and said "Yes, they shall know the fury of the one and only Miss V, AKA the Black and White Thunder! But enough about me. I need to head to the garage to continue working on my invention. Later!".

Vanellope then exited the throne room.


	6. Sonic

**Chapter 6: Sonic**

Meanwhile, Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle reached the Sonic Generations game portal and entered it. When they entered the game, they looked around. The game looked the same as it did in the real timeline, but the three of them noticed that there were no sounds being made. There was no wind, there was no sound of chirps of small animals that usually hung around in the safety of the shade, and like the other parts of the arcade, the Sonic game characters weren't in sight.

"This doesn't seem right." Candi said.

"Yeah, everything still looks the same, but there's no one here. It's kind of creepy." Swizzle said.

Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle started walking through the game. The grass was green and lush under their feet as they walked, and their skin soaked up the rays of shining sun. Candi looked around.

"So, where do you think Sonic could be?" Candi asked.

Adorabeezle shrugged.

"I don't know. We still need to keep searching. He couldn't have left the game because he would be guarding the second artifact." Adorabeezle replied.

Suddenly, a blue figure caught their eye. Candi froze.

"There he is." Candi whispered.

Adorabeezle nodded and transformed into her snow beast form.

"Be careful around him." Adorabeezle ordered.

Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle ran over to Sonic. When they got close to him, they saw that he looked the same, except that blood covered most of his body. Candi silently gagged and raised her hand in greeting.

"Sonic!" Candi greeted.

The hedgehog didn't respond. Instead, he stayed where he was, his eyes closed. Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle were confused by that, but they stayed on guard. Swizzle moved a little closer to Sonic, his hands glowing with energy in case if Sonic attacked him.

"Sonic?" Swizzle asked.

The hedgehog didn't seem to hear him.

"Is he dead?" Candi asked in confusion.

Swizzle closed his eyes and used his psychic abilities to home in on Sonic's thoughts. He got a pulse, and he opened his eyes.

"No, he's not dead." Swizzle replied.

Candi decided to continue towards Sonic, in hopes of getting him to respond somehow. However, the closer she got, the more unnerved she felt. Sonic stood with his eyes shut and no expression on his face. He wasn't moving either, as if he was frozen in place like a statue. Candi finally stopped only a foot away from the hedgehog, but even with how close they were, the hedgehog didn't look like he was breathing. Candi reached out a shaking hand.

"Sonic?" Candi asked nervously.

Sonic's eyes flicked open, and Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle found themselves staring into a pair of crimson irises sitting in a pool of black sclerae. They flinched, but then Sonic was gone, as if someone just stamped him out of existence. There was no trace left of the hedgehog, not even an indention in the grass where he once stood. But Candi wasn't entirely focused on where he went. Her heart pounded fearfully and her breath increased tempo. Her mind raced, trying to identify and rationalize what just happened.

"Sonic?" Candi asked in a weak and breathless voice.

Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle walked over to the spot where the blue hedgehog had been. They then glanced up ahead, where there was nothing more then more rolling green hills, decorated with palm trees and shiny plants.

"I'm scared." Candi whispered.

It was deathly quiet. Swizzle looked around and narrowed his eyes.

 _"Something's extremely wrong here."_ Swizzle thought.

Suddenly, he, Candi, and Adorabeezle noticed a familiar blue shape far off in the distance in front of them. Swizzle picked Candi up and started flying towards the figure, while Adorabeezle followed them by running on the ground. They couldn't make out any features, but the distinct blue stood out to them the most. But suddenly, the blue figure vanished again. Adorabeezle jerked to a stop, and Swizzle floated down and placed Candi down gently on the ground before standing on the ground himself.

 _"Where is he now?"_ Adorabeezle wondered.

Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle continued to walk forward. As they began to make their way past another palm tree, Adorabeezle noticed something beside it's trunk, and she stopped Candi and Swizzle, who also noticed what was there. There was a small bunny lying on the ground, dismembered and soaking in it's own blood. A mix of a gag and a cry caught in Candi's throat as her stomach lurched, her wide eyes unwillingly drinking in the gruesome sight. She, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle immediately turned to run, and they suddenly noticed Sonic in the distance behind them, red eyes glowing among black sclerae and arms outstretched. He levitated a foot above the ground and advanced towards Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle. Candi felt her heart and gut drop into unadulterated terror, and she turned around and bolted forward. Swizzle and Adorabeezle gasped.

"Candi, wait!" Swizzle shouted.

However, Candi didn't listen to him. Swizzle and Adorabeezle turned back around and noticed that Sonic had almost reached them. Swizzle grabbed Adorabeezle and quickly turned the two of them invisible. Sonic didn't see them, and he ran past them and raced towards Candi.

Candi's pulse began to pound violently throughout her body as she ran, and her thoughts were a jumbled, horrified mess. She sloppily threw a glance over her shoulder and saw that Sonic was getting closer and continued to approach at a steady rate. Candi turned back to the path ahead of her and pushed herself to run faster. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see the flowers and trees that she passed. She caught glimpses of a hanged squirrel with dangling entrails, and there was the sight of a duck in the grass, it's eyes gouged out. Candi whimpered breathlessly, and the lungs trapped behind her rib-cage began to ache.

 _"Did he do this? Did he get ahead of me, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle, and then somehow start chasing me from behind?" Candi_ wondered.

Candi threw another look over her shoulder, and she saw that Sonic was only a few meters away now. He still proceeded at the same rate, no matter how fast Candi ran, and the hedgehog seemed to be exerting no force at all. He was almost completely stiff as he cut through the air, with trails of red liquid streaming from his eyes. Candi cried out fruitlessly and tried to run faster.

 _"I can't fly away. There's no place high enough to escape. I have to outrun him. Find higher ground that he can't reach."_ Candi thought to herself desperately.

Candi had bits and pieces of a scattered plan start coming together as she caught sight of some cliffs up ahead. A horrible feeling struck her and she glanced back. Sonic's red eyes were inches from her own gaze. Candi then saw the empty expanse of green hills yet again, as the hedgehog had vanished, leaving not a trace. Candi still continued running forward, and she turned her attention back to the path ahead. She was met with the sight of a red pair of eyes. Candi let out a shriek, but a painful opposing force then slammed into her throat. She choked harshly and jerked to an abrupt stop as an iron grip seized her by her neck. Sonic held her just above the green blades of grass, so her feet dangled. Candi gasped hopelessly, staring into the crimson gaze within the black expanse that made up his eyes. A horrible grin twisted the blue hedgehog's features. Candi squirmed weakly, but it did nothing to hinder the hedgehog, who drew in the arm that held the 9 year old girl. Candi was turned away as a result, so she could now see the vast blue sky dotted with white clouds that floated over the palm tree tops. She felt Sonic's other arm wrap over her chest and grab her right shoulder. All the while, the hedgehog moved his one hand to hold the left side of the girl's chin. Candi couldn't move her head like this and was only able to see the bright blue sky.

However, before Sonic could snap Candi's neck in two, an energy ray slammed into him and knocked him a few feet away. Candi started falling to the ground, but Adorabeezle ran up, caught her, and gently cupped her in her arms. She ran over to a palm tree and set Candi down next to it. The two them watched as Swizzle faced Sonic angrily.

"So, you kids were brave enough to come in here and secure my artifact, huh?" Sonic asked, his voice sounding pixelated.

"Yeah, we did. But you have no right to harm my friends." Swizzle replied angrily.

"You dare challenge the authority of god?" Sonic asked, now frustrated beyond belief.

Sonic charged head on at Swizzle. He raised his right arm, ready to claw the boy. But as he brought it down, Swizzle quickly grabbed his wrist, spun him around rapidly, and flung him into a palm tree nearby. The force that Sonic was thrown at the palm tree was so powerful that it caused the tree to sever and collapse onto the ground. Swizzle flew over and punched Sonic to the ground while he streaked through the air, a small crater surrounding where he landed. He got up from the ground and stood in a slightly hunched manner. Swizzle landed just a few feet away. In a fit of rage, Sonic ran directly at him. Swizzle stared at Sonic before letting off an energy ray. Sonic had only enough time to raise his arms in an X shape before the energy ray hit him. Sonic was thrown against a cliff side, his body making a hole in it. He was barely able to stand up. Swizzle flew straight at him and uppercut him into the sky. Sonic went flying upwards, with Swizzle following closely behind. As Sonic climbed higher into the sky, Swizzle continued to punch him, each punch taking a bit of life away from Sonic. Swizzle then grabbed Sonic and tossed him to the ground, and then he descended to the ground and put his foot on Swizzle's chest. Sonic weakly attempted to remove Swizzle's leg. Swizzle lifted his leg and stomped on his chest. The ground literally shook, and another crater appeared on the ground. Swizzle floated out of the hole and waited. By some miracle, Sonic was able to stand up and climb out of the crater. He attempted one final charge, barely able to run. Swizzle simply turned 90 degrees, grabbed Sonic's back, and kneed him in the stomach. Sonic fell to the ground, and for a moment, he seemed dead. But a few moments later, Sonic brought himself to a kneeling position, staring at Swizzle with anger and pain. Swizzle started to speak to him.

* * *

Candi had her chin on her knees, waiting for the safe signal, while Adorabeezle leaned against the palm tree. Candi was holding a caramel pipe, and she had been listening to the fight while safely hidden. But when the ground started shaking, she and Adorabeezle looked to see what was happening. They peeked out see how the battle had went, and they saw Swizzle standing above Sonic, who was kneeling in defeat.

Sonic was a mess. He was covered in cuts and bruises, and several pieces of wood had emerged themselves in his fur. His nose was bleeding, and every time he coughed, blood came out. Swizzle seemed to be talking to Sonic. Candi focused on them and tried to listen to the conversation. She managed to hear what Swizzle was saying, and she couldn't believe what it was.

After all the killing, all the destruction, and all of the pain that Sonic had caused in this timeline, Swizzle was going to let him rot in prison, while he secured the second artifact. This made Candi mad. Even though she liked Sonic when he was normal, he didn't deserve life in jail in this timeline. She took a look at the pipe in her hand and, for the moment, she believed that she was the one to end the pain and suffering. This was the perfect time, while Sonic was so vulnerable. The time for justice and what was right.

A crooked grin appeared on Candi's face. Adorabeezle looked over at her and noticed what was going on.

"Candi, don't even think about it!" Adorabeezle warned.

Candi ignored Adorabeezle and ran towards Sonic. She ran past Swizzle and raised the pipe high over her head. Sonic only saw Candi as the caramel pipe connected with his head. He died as soon as it hit him, and he fell to the ground, lifeless and unmoving. But as if that was't enough, Candi continued to smack Sonic's body with the pipe.

"How do YOU like it, huh? How does it feel to be me, HUH?" Candi asked angrily.

Candi started laughing, and Swizzle and Adorabeezle noticed a hint of insanity in the laugh. Eventually, the pipe broke, but that didn't stop Candi, for she started to use her nails to claw at the body. It was almost disturbing for Swizzle and Adorabeezle to watch. But then, for a brief moment, a little bit of Candi's sanity came back. She realized what she was doing, and slowly but surely, her laughing became weeping. Eventually, she stopped clawing at Sonic's dead body, but the damage was done, for Sonic's body was now horribly mutilated. Candi curled up in a lying fetal position, still weeping. Swizzle, who had been watching the scene play out with Adorabeezle, picked up Candi and carried her in her arms.

 _"Poor kid."_ Swizzle thought. He then glared at Sonic's body and thought _"This is because of you. And now your dead. Some god you were."_.

Suddenly, something appeared over Sonic's body and flew over to Swizzle. It was one of the game's rings, except it was silver.

"The artifact." Swizzle whispered.

Swizzle reached out, grabbed the ring, and put it in one of his pockets. He then flew off with Candi still in his arms, and Adorabeezle followed closely behind on the ground.


	7. Vanellope's New Invention

**Chapter 7: Vanellope's New Invention**

At long last, it was completed. After days of working on it, Vanellope was finally finished with her secret project that she had mentioned earlier in the castle's garage. She stepped back, rubbing her hands clean of oil and chemicals with a cloth as she examined her handiwork. She smiled, feeling proud of her work. This was by far her greatest invention ever.

 _"And with just one more hour to spare. I better get ready. I don't want to be late on my second official mission."_ Vanellope thought.

Vanellope placed the dirty cloth on her desk. She headed for a nearby bathroom, where she took a quick shower. After taking the shower, she got out, got dressed into her Miss V clothing, and took a look at herself in the mirror while she got ready. However, as she did, the sound of a small shockwave caught her ear, and she knew that Sorceress had entered the garage. Vanelllope gave herself one last pat down before exiting the bathroom and heading towards the garage. As she thought, Sorceress was there, looking for her.

"Hey, Sorceress." Vanellope greeted.

Sorceress turned to Vanellope.

"Hello, Vanellope. Your running late on facing those three kids from earlier." Sorceress said.

Vanellope cursed before trembling around the garage, hoping to pack any needed supplies.

"Darn it, Sorceress. Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Vanellope asked angrily.

Sorceress shrugged.

"I don't know. But anyway, Overdrive send me to deliver you to your mission site." Sorceress replied.

Vanellope opened the door to a mini fridge. She took out three vanilla shakes and stuffed them into her skirt pocket.

"Well, since your here, I'm sorry to inform you that I won't be needing your assistance anymore." Vanellope said.

Sorceress raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Is that so?" Sorceress asked.

Vanellope gently patted on the white sheet that hid her invention.

"Yep. Thanks to this baby here, I now have my own method of transportation." Vanellope replied.

"Well, I must congratulate you on finishing this surprise of yours. However, I've been sort of busy lately, so I guess that means more time for me." Sorceress said.

"Aw, don't feel bad, Sorceress. Here, I'll grant you the honor of having the first look." Vanellope said.

"Well, that just makes me feel special." Sorceress said.

Vanellope rolled her eyes and grabbed onto the white sheet.

"You ready?" Vanellope asked.

Sorceress nodded, and Vanellope pulled the sheet off.

"Taa-daa!" Vanellope exclaimed.

Once it was revealed, Sorceress's eyes widened with shock and surprise. Vanellope's invention was a lot bigger then she originally thought.

"V, my friend... you never cease to amaze me." Sorceress said.

Vanellope smiled.

"I know, right? Well, I better get going. I don't want to miss those kids." Vanellope said.

"Very well then. Goodbye for now, V." Sorceress said.

Sorceress turned around and hovered over to the door. But before she exited the garage, Vanellope called out to her.

"Um, Sorceress?" Vanellope asked.

Sorceress paused and turned back to her.

"Yes, V?" Sorceress asked.

Vanellope looked at Sorceress sheepishly.

"Um, by any chance... could you... help me get this outside?" Vanellope asked.

Sorceress simply smirked.


	8. Betrayal

**Chapter 8: Betrayal**

Meanwhile, Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle made their way out of Sonic Generations, and they found themselves in Game Central Station. By now, Candi had calmed down, and Swizzle placed her down on the ground.

"Let's just get to Pac-Man and end this nightmare." Candi said.

"Oh, I don't think so." a voice said.

Vanellope suddenly glitched down from the air and landed on Swizzle. Swizzle yelped and fell to the ground. The ring fell out of his pocket and rolled away before stopping a few feet away from Vanellope. Vanellope turned to the ring and examined it.

 _"It's three artifacts against Overdrive, right? So, even if they're missing one, they wouldn't be able to succeed, which could provide me more time."_ Vanellope thought.

Vanellope then looked back at Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle. Swizzle, by now, had recovered and was standing up.

"Well, look at this. It's Sonic's artifact. I guess you can't handle keeping more then one artifact. But, eh, whatever. I'll swipe it just for kicks." Vanellope said.

Vanellope grabbed the ring and placed it in her skirt pocket. Once she was done with that, Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle started to approach her. The first one that Vanellope noticed was Candi.

"Ah, it's you. I couldn't miss that trendy gold and brown combo." Vanellope said.

"Your that creep that we fought before." Candi sneered.

 _"Creep? I am NOT a creep!"_ Vanellope thought angrily. Vanellope then turned her attention to Adorabeezle, who was still in her snow beast form, and she taunted "Hey there, butterball! Feeling a little pooped out? It's too bad that you sweated your way out here for nothing.".

"HEY! I'm not fat! I just got a big body type in this form." Adorabeezle said angrily.

Vanellope smirked and turned her attention to Swizzle.

"Hey there, gorgeous. Don't you know that a wasteland is no place for a stunner like you?" Vanellope asked in a flirty tone.

Swizzle glared at Vanellope.

"You've got a lot of nerve for flirting with me." Swizzle replied angrily.

Vanellope blinked in surprise. She then snapped out of her shock.

"Look, I have to run. Stay out of Lord Overdrive's business if you want to live." Vanellope warned.

"You got a big mouth for a henchman. Minions need to learn respect." Candi said.

"Even a girl like you wouldn't watch a world die without feeling anything. You must see that Overdrive is totally mad." Adorabeezle said.

Vanellope ignored Adorabeezle. She took a step to leave, but Swizzle stood in her way, making a fighting stance.

"We are going to stop Overdrive. Now hand over the artifact." Swizzle sneered.

Vanellope frowned.

"Still pushing for a fight, huh? Fine. Who am I to disappoint?" Vanellope asked.

Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle looked at Vanellope, a bit confused as she raised both of her hands in the air as if she was summoning something.

"COME TO ME, SUGAR SIS!" Vanellope yelled.

The whole area around them started shaking. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Vanellope's invention appeared. The invention was a large, floating, mechanical head of herself.

"Ha, HA! Do you like her? That is my DEAR metal sister. She and I shared a spiritual bond, you know? Yes, yes, and her name is... Sugarbot!" Vanellope explained.

Vanellope jumped into her new creation and began piloting the large machine.

"The Black and White Thunder strikes like lighting!" Vanellope shouted.

Sugarbot launched a cherry bomb from a cannon at Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle, who dove out of the way in three different directions to avoid the attack. The giant robot turned to face Adorabeezle.

"Hey, Miss Incompetent! I'm going to hatch an evil plan on your FACE! Have at you!" Vanellope taunted.

Sugarbot flew up in the air and tried to crush Adorabeezle. Fortunately, Adorabeezle managed to run out of the way and avoid getting stepped on. The robot then turned to Candi, and a few beeps were heard before it let out a ray beam that headed straight for her. Candi jumped out of the way to avoid any injuries. Vanellope's attention was then taken by Swizzle, who tried to jump onto Sugarbot but ended up hurting himself instead. Vanellope frowned.

 _"I went easy on you last time, boy, but this time will be different."_ Vanellope thought. She then taunted "Those attacks are so played out. Have at you!".

Vanellope fired rocket punches at Swizzle. However, Swizzle stopped them by using his telekinesis on them while up in the air. However, just as his feet touched the ground, he found himself getting sucked up into the giant robot's mouth. The robot munched on him for a few minutes before spitting him back out. Candi and Adorabeezle gathered around him as he struggled back to his feet. The three then stood firm in front of Vanellope and her machine, ready to take on anything that she had. Vanellope didn't say anything about their stance, but she stood ready at her controls.

 _"They aren't going to give up."_ Vanellope thought.

Vanellope took a small glance to her right, where a large purple button stood unattended. Written on the label were the words 'Poison Gas Bomb'. The Poison Gas Bomb was a WMD, a weapon of mass destruction. The blast would range up to a quarter of a mile and would almost immediately affect anyone who breathed it in. Sugarbot was specially designed to protect Vanellope from the blast, and once she released it, Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle would have no chance of escaping it.

 _"This is it, my last resort."_ Vanellope thought.

Vanellope slowly moved her finger over to the button, the only thing that would ensure her victory and defeat Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle once and for all.

 _"But then, if I defeat them... who will stop Overdrive if I fail?"_ Vanellope wondered.

Vanellope's finger drew away slightly, but still hovered over the button.

 _"I mean, they're only trying to save countless of innocent lives. Who am I to stop them from doing that?"_ Vanellope wondered.

Vanellope's arm fell to her side, the button abandoned, along with her chance of finally defeating Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle and making Overdrive proud. She cast her head down, her feelings in turmoil with her decisions. However, she quickly cast her head back up when her body started shaking and the robot started exploding. Vanellope knew what was happening. Sugarbot was finished, and Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle had won.

There was a series of explosions before the final explosion destroyed Sugarbot completely. Vanellope fell down to the ground, the ring falling out of her pocket. With a painful grunt, she quickly got back on her feet.

"Preposterous! Why? Why can't I win?" Vanellope asked angrily.

"Well... it might be because your weak." Adorabeezle replied.

Vanellope let out a sharp gasp. Hurt, disappointment, and shame began to fill her heart. But before Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle could notice, she turned her upset expression into an angry scowl.

"GRRRRRR! You laugh now, but the Black and White Thunder never forgets!" Vanellope sneered.

Vanellope glitched behind Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle, and she fled the area. Once she was gone, Candi turned around and smiled upon seeing the ring.

"Oh, look!" Candi said. She walked over to the ring on the ground and said "She must have dropped it when she ran off.".

Swizzle walked over and took the ring into his possession. He, Candi, and Adorabeezle then started making their way to the Pac-Man game portal.

* * *

Meanwhile, Vanellope was bent over, her hands on her knees and gasping for breath. She had been forced to run a mile from Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle, and she was exhausted. Her body ached from the major fall to the ground, but other then that, she was fine. Now, she was alone in an abandoned and broken down Game Central Station.

"I don't know what it is about those guys, but I just can't seem to beat them!" Vanellope said in a tired tone.

"Did they wound your fragile pride, Miss V?" a voice asked.

Vanellope jumped, startled out of her thoughts by the sound of the sudden voice. A familiar blue and red figure warped before her, her red eyes twinkling maliciously and a cruel smirk gracing her lips. Vanellope took little concern of her friend's expression because she was just happy that she was there.

"Oh, it's you again, Sorceress." Vanellope said.

Vanellope's sixth sense was starting act up, a sense that told her when danger was near and that she should run. But the strangest thing was that she was getting that dread feeling from being around Sorceress. Vanellope sighed wearily and tried her best to ignore it. She had nothing to fear because she was just overreacting.

"I'm stumped. You would think that a giant robot would be enough to crush these kids." Vanellope said.

Shame welled up in her chest, and she turned away from the game villain. A similar voice of failure and disgrace started echoing through her ears.

"I'm a disgrace. There's no way that I can show my face to Overdrive after this." Vanellope said.

Sorceress nodded, though Vanellope couldn't see it.

"Perhaps that is for the best." Sorceress said.

Sorceress waved her hands in the air and conjured some magic. Vanellope's sixth sense grew dramatically and something inside her told him to move. She turned and jumped away from Sorceress, just seconds before a large explosion went off where she once stood. Vanellope stared between the game villain and where she stood, surprise and confusion written all over her face.

"Whoa, now! Hey! What are you doing?" Vanellope asked angrily.

Sorceress landed in front of her and gazed back coolly with a cruel smile.

"You said it yourself. You can't go back to Overdrive now. So get lost." Sorceress replied slowly, as if to a child.

Vanellope stared back at her 'friend'. She was confused at first, but then her face turned into a scowl, thinking that this was just an insane prank.

"It's not a funny joke, Sorceress. If I wanted to laugh, your face is inspiration enough!" Vanellope spat furiously.

Sorceress chuckled softly, an insane smile on her face.

"Such temper! I can't have you around Overdrive. If I am rid of you here, I won't be found out. And the others will never find you." Sorceress said. The smile grew, looking more menacing then before, and she said "Yes, this is my moment to grasp.".

A wide maniacal grin appeared on the woman's lips. Vanellope unconsciously took a fearful step back. Her instinct was screaming at her, telling her to run and get as far away from the game villain as she could. But, Sorceress was her best friend. She would never hurt her... right?

"It's time for you to take your final bow, Miss V." Sorceress said.

Before Vanellope could come to terms on what she meant, Sorceress summoned a magical dome around her, preventing her from escaping. Vanellope gasped, her body shaking out of fear. She stared straight at the dark magician that imprisoned her, and she started pounding against the walls of her prison

"Have you lost your mind? Let me out, you crazy witch! The Black and White Thunder will not stand for this!" Vanellope yelled feverishly.

Sorceress grinned madly, her bright red eyes staring straight into Vanellope's teary brown ones.

"Don't worry. It won't be so bad, I promise." Sorceress said.

Vanellope shook her head, pleading to the game villain, begging her not to do this and to let her go. But they all fell on deaf ears. The sound of Sorceress snapping her fingers was the last thing Vanellope heard before she literally exploded in a world of pain. She screamed a deafening screech as explosions erupted in the dome. Flesh burned and appendages crumbled to ash, but almost as soon as it came, it stopped as everything turned black. As for Vanellope's murderer, she simply laughed tauntingly.

"Goodbye, Miss V." Sorceress said.


	9. Pac-Man

**Chapter 9: Pac-Man**

Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle reached the Pac-Man game portal and entered it. When they entered the game, they looked around. Broken and rusted pac-dots laid on the ground, and the hallways of the game's maze looked dark. Lamps that hung from the ceiling of the maze were still on, but they were dim and just made the maze look gray and dreary.

"Let's just find Pac-Man, defeat him, and get out of here." Candi said.

Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle started walking through the maze. As they did, a whishing sound from behind startled them, and Candi almost tripped over her legs as she, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle spun around. They saw nothing, but that didn't mean that something wasn't there. Paralyzed with fear, Candi stood where she was with her hands placed on her chest, her legs feeling like they were in cement. After a minute of nothing happening, her body loosened itself and she was able to move on.

She, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle headed to the center of the maze, where the Bad-Anon meetings were usually held. However, the room didn't look very inviting. The chairs looked like they had been tossed around and now laid in different corners of the room, and papers and twigs laid on the ground. But in the front of the room, there was a display case that held a power pellet that glowed white, instead of yellow. Adorabeezle frowned.

"Wait a minute. Why is the artifact out if Pac-Man hasn't even showed up?" Adorabeezle asked.

Swizzle shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe it's different for the last guardian." Swizzle replied.

Adorabeezle nodded and walked up to the display case. She attempted to grab the power pellet, but her hands went right through it.

"It's a hologram?" Candi asked in confusion.

Suddenly, for some creepy reason, the power in the room went off, and the power pellet and the display case disappeared in a yellow flash.

"Now what?" Adorabeezle asked.

Suddenly, there was the sound of a twig snapping. Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle froze in place, and they turned around. On the other side of the room, which was pitch black, they caught sight of something yellow and glowing. Two black dots side-by-side on the thing slowly narrowed into thin slits. At first, Swizzle thought that they might be a couple of fireball flies, but then they started flying towards him, Candi, and Adorabeezle at an alarming speed, and the closer they got, the bigger they got. Much bigger then any fly should be. Except they weren't flies at all.

They were eyes.

Panic seized Candi and she ran out of the room, ignoring Swizzle and Adorabeezle's calls of her name, and she started running through the maze. However, as she ran, she tripped on the floor, skidding painfully across it. With a tearful gasp, she struggled to push herself up, ignoring the rips and stains on her outfit. She succeeded, and without looking back, she ran again, her whole body screaming in pain. After a minute, she paused by the exit, resting against a wall while she caught her breath. She looked back and saw no sign of the glowing orbs that had been chasing her. Could she have imagined it? Had she panicked over nothing.

With a thick swallow, she hugged her tiny arms across her chest and backed up away from the wall, only to bump into something. She inhaled loudly, her mind trying to convince her that she had simply bumped into another wall.

Except this wall was soft... and warm... and breathing.

Candi tilted her head up to look above, and behind her, a ghoulish face smiled down at her, the same black eyes from before piercing into her own, bottomless like pits with no soul behind them. The smile was an evil one, black like the eyes, and two razor sharp fangs could be seen. The creature also had a long yellow lizard-like body with claws.

This was Pac-Man, the third guardian.

"Hello... little girl." Pac-Man whispered in a pixelated tone, like Sonic back in Sonic Generations.

The gentle yet malicious whisper sliced into Candi's body like a knife and she flew forward away from it. But a cold claw grabbed the back of her head before she got too far, and she fell with a whimper. Pac-Man grabbed her easily, her tiny frame no match for his own. She cried and fought the best she could, but it had no effect on him. Her arms held her tight enough to smother her, his hot breath making her nauseous.

"Hush now." Pac-Man whispered.

Two sharp teeth buried themselves into the side of Candi. She screamed, but a yellow claw shoved itself against her mouth to quiet her. The monster fed himself on her sweet sugar blood, and she slowly felt herself drifting into unconsciousness. However, before Pac-Man could finish, a massive energy ray slammed into Pac-Man and knocked him away.

"Get away from her!" a voice yelled.

Swizzle and Adorabeezle showed up, and they glared at Pac-Man. Pac-Man got up and smirked.

"Well, if it isn't Swizzle Malarkey and Adorabeezle Winterpop." Pac-Man sneered.

"You know us?" Adorabeezle asked with a raised eyebrow.

Pac-Man nodded.

"Yes, you are from the game Sugar Rush. And that means more sweet sugar blood for me." Pac-Man replied.

Pac-Man charged towards Swizzle and Adorabeezle. They dove out of the way, and Pac-Man ran right past them. He scurried up a wall and disappeared out of sight. Swizzle and Adorabeezle stayed on guard, and they searched the area around them. Suddenly, Pac-Man jumped down and landed on Adorabeezle, knocking her down to the ground. She slashed him with her claws and then threw him off of her. Swizzle then released a massive energy ray that knocked Pac-Man into a wall, and the force of him getting thrown into the wall was so great that the wall cracked and dropped debris on Pac-Man, burying him completely. Swizzle and Adorabeezle sighed, and they ran over to Candi.

"Candi, are you alright?" Swizzle asked in concern.

Candi shook her head.

"I don't really feel good." Candi replied in a weak tone.

Swizzle suddenly got an idea. He took out one of the two vanilla shakes that he had taken from Vanellope and handed it to Candi.

"Drink this." Swizzle ordered.

Candi slowly grabbed the vanilla shake and drank it. The effects of the shake happened almost immediately and she felt better. She got up and smiled.

"I feel much better." Candi said.

Swizzle smiled.

"Good." Swizzle said.

Suddenly, the power pellet appeared over the debris that Pac-Man was buried under and flew over to Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle.

"The last artifact." Adorabeezle whispered.

Adorabeezle reached out and grabbed the power pellet before putting it in her jacket pocket.

"That's the last of the artifacts. Let's head back to the DeLorean and find out when Overdrive messed everything up." Adorabeezle ordered.

Candi and Swizzle nodded, and they and Adorabeezle left Pac-Man.


	10. Truth

**Chapter 10: Truth**

Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle left Pac-Man, and they headed to the Fix-It Felix Jr. game portal. They entered the game and found themselves back in Niceland.

"Enjoying your little game of tag?" a voice asked.

Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle got into battle stances as they saw Sorceress, who was standing near them. She wasn't floating, but was standing casually in front of them. She straightened and stood a little taller.

"I have been watching you. You are the only ones who can stand up to Overdrive. So... I have a favor to ask." Sorceress said. Her smile vanished, suddenly looking completely serious, and she asked "Will you help me destroy Overdrive?".

Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle blinked in shock.

"What are you talking about? You want to betray him?" Swizzle asked in suspicion.

Sorceress smiled again, but it was a bitter and angry one.

"Betray him? Ah, ha, ha, ha. Oh, no. It is Overdrive who has betrayed ME! He said he would make the arcade a perfect place for everyone. But he was lying! The arcade is in ruins because of him!" Sorceress replied.

Sorceress paused, taking a deep breath and trying to control the volume of her voice. Once she calmed down, she nodded and held her hands out in a gesture of supplication.

"That's right. I have always known about his nefarious goal. I joined him because he promised that me and his other minions would all have our own perfect worlds, places where we could be accepted just the way we are. He lied to me, and if I can't have what I want, then I must try to get it another way. He must be stopped." Sorceress explained.

Adorabeezle nodded. She could see a vulnerability to Sorceress that she had never shown before, even in the real timeline.

"But, I could never hope to stop him on my own. Once I found out his true intentions, I started to feign loyalty to him as I searched for someone who could defeat him besides me. You see, this is why... I've been helping you all along." Sorceress explained.

"You have?" Candi asked, frowning.

Sorceress nodded.

"Yes. I destroyed Vanellope because she was a major block to your quest. And I made sure that none of Overdrive's other minions ever found you. I have never actually harmed any of you, as you are clearly not dead." Sorceress replied.

Sorceress frowned, clenching her hands against her dress. Her face displayed an open honest quality because, unknown to Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle, she was not lying to them.

"Now do you see?" Sorceress asked.

Swizzle grimaced in thought, looking at Candi and Adorabeezle, who looked similarly thoughtful.

"You've... you've been helping us all this time?" Candi asked, not daring to believe it.

"Indeed. You would have been stuck without me, like a catchy song that you can't get out of your head." Sorceress replied. She met their scrutiny evenly and said "Now, it is time, and I must ask you to return the favor. Together, we can stop him.". She held out her hand beseechingly and pleaded "Please.".

"Swizzle, Adorabeezle, wait! Are you sure you can trust her? I don't believe all this." Candi asked, seeing that Swizzle and Adorabeezle were considering accepting.

Sorceress fisted her outstretched hand against her chest.

"You don't believe me? What more can I do to convince you?" Sorceress asked, hints of anger, fear, and hurt in her eyes.

Candi shook herself.

"No, your lying! You just want to trick us!" Candi replied.

Sorceress narrowed her eyes at the girl, burning her with the honest feelings in her gaze.

"No. I am tired of being an outcast, of being someone to laugh at and hurt. You don't know the meaning of suffering. Even if I can't have a perfect world of my own, I cannot let this arcade continue to be destroyed. If Overdrive is not stopped, we will all cease to exist." Sorceress said angrily.

Candi frowned. Sorceress hesitated before revealing more of herself in a soft voice.

"I... would rather not see Overdrive hurt. He has been kind to me as others have never been... but, it is too late to stop. I'm afraid the only way to bring peace back to this arcade is to kill Overdrive." Sorceress explained.

Candi looked at Swizzle and Adorabeezle, who looked back at her and nodded. Candi decided to trust Sorceress, and she turned back to the woman.

"Alright, guys, let's do this. Are you with us, Sorceress?" Candi asked.

Sorceress perked up a bit.

"Of course. I cannot do it alone. I... must thank you." Sorceress replied.

Sorceress bowed low, displaying her gratitude. She then looked back up.

"Ah, we had best hurry if we want to stop Overdrive." Sorceress said.

Sorceress stuck out her hand again, and Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle shook it.


	11. Arriving In 2012

**Chapter 11: Arriving In 2012**

 _"Location: Litwak's Arcade, The World Of Disney, October 2nd 2012"_

With three triumphant sounds, the DeLorean burst through time and appeared above Sugar Rush during the date of October 2nd 2012. After joining up with Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle, Sorceress said that this was the date that Overdrive had started to take over the arcade, starting with Sugar Rush. Adorabeezle, who was driving the DeLorean, set it down with a clunk, and she, Candi, Swizzle, and Sorceress left the car in a pile. Sorceress was the first to pick herself up.

"October 2nd 2012... wait, this is the day that Overdrive started to take over the arcade." Sorceress said in shock.

"Yes, yes it is." Candi said, getting to her feet.

Adorabeezle looked around.

"The Cy-Bugs don't show up for another ten minutes or so, and my past self, Swizzle's past self, and the other racers past selves are competing in the Random Roster Race. We have to find Overdrive and stop him, but above all, we must not interfere in the race or Ralph and Turbo's fight. If we accidentally mess something up, we could cause a major paradox." Adorabeezle explained.

Swizzle nodded.

"Got it." Swizzle said.

"We'll use the DeLorean to search for Overdrive, so we won't risk running into our past selves. That's a big thing, guys. The reset isn't until an hour from now, so make sure that none of you get spotted by your past selves. They will certainly recognize you, and that will cause some danger." Adorabeezle explained.

Candi, Swizzle, and Sorceress nodded, and they and Adorabeezle got back into the DeLorean. Swizzle decided to drive the DeLorean, and he flew over to the racetrack. However, he accidentally ended up placing him, Candi, Adorabeezle, and Sorceress in the middle of the Random Roster Race. Adorabeezle let out a shriek.

"Swizzle, get us out of here!" Adorabeezle shouted.

Taffyta, Rancis, and Candlehead were in the middle of trying to eliminate Vanellope when they noticed the DeLorean, thankfully not seeing Swizzle or Adorabeezle.

"Hey, look. It's a DeLorean!" Rancis shouted.

"What is that doing here in our race?" Taffyta asked angrily.

Sorceress looked in the rear view mirror and saw Vanellope behind them.

"It looks like she could use a boost." Sorceress said.

Adorabeezle glared at Sorceress, Candi, and Swizzle.

"Don't you dare." Adorabeezle sneered.

Swizzle ignored Adorabeezle. He slowed the DeLorean down to let Vanellope pass. Meanwhile, Candlehead ignited cherry bombs on the cake tower that they were on. Swizzle sped up and bumped the Blender up further. Vanellope felt a jolt and looked behind her. Candi, Swizzle, and Sorceress waved to her, while Adorabeezle tried to cover her face so Vanellope wouldn't see who she was, and Vanellope awkwardly waved back. Swizzle then pushed Vanellope across the cake ramp before flying away, and he, Candi, Adorabeezle, and Sorceress watched as she glitched across to the other side and landed on the road, while Taffyta, Rancis, and Candlehead missed the road.

"I say our job there is done." Swizzle said in a proud tone.

Adorabeezle glared at him.

"Don't you dare do something like that again." Adorabeezle said angrily.

Swizzle frowned and started flying the DeLorean towards Diet Cola Mountain, just as the Cy-Bugs started popping out of the ground.


	12. The Battle Against Overdrive

**Chapter 12: The Battle Against Overdrive**

As they flew towards Diet Cola Mountain, Swizzle looked around.

"Guys, if you see Overdrive, tell me." Swizzle said.

Candi looked around Diet Cola Mountain before spotting Overdrive on the top of the mentos.

"There! I see him!" Candi announced.

Swizzle nodded, and he set the DeLorean down on the mentos. He, Candi, Adorabeezle, and Sorceress got out of the DeLorean and faced Overdrive, who had noticed them and had turned to face them.

"So, I see that someone has come at last to stop me." Overdrive said. He then glared at them and said "All worlds will soon be mine. Come to grips with that now, for you cannot stop it. I suggest you make yourselves comfortable and enjoy this one final spectacle.".

"I most certainly will not. I can't stand being lied to." Sorceress said with a venomous tone.

Overdrive frowned.

"Do not think for moment that I will hesitate to strike you down. ALL NOW ENDS!" Overdrive sneered.

Overdrive flew at them, his body glowing with a red aura. Sorceress immediately got out of the way, but Candi hesitated too long. Overdrive tackled her and sent her flying into the mentos with enough force to make them shake. Swizzle shot an energy blast at Overdrive, but it bounced off of him ineffectively. As Candi got up, a magical starburst that Sorceress shot hit Overdrive in the back, but it was just as useless.

"This isn't going to go well unless we get rid of his shield!" Sorceress shouted.

Adorabeezle turned to Candi and Swizzle.

"Candi, Swizzle, the artifacts." Adorabeezle said.

Candi and Swizzle nodded, and they took out the Fire Flower and ring, while Adorabeezle took out the power pellet. The artifacts flew out of their hands, headed over to Overdrive, and surrounded him before fading in white sparkles. Overdrive flinched.

"What is this? What have you done to me?" Overdrive asked angrily.

"We're using the only things that can stop you." Adorabeezle replied.

Overdrive blinked in shock before glaring at them.

"Don't celebrate just yet. Now the true battle begins. Your precious worlds aren't safe until my last breath! " Overdrive declared, trying to goad them on.

"Oh, I agree." Sorceress said mockingly.

Sorceress made the first move this time. She vanished and then reappeared behind Overdrive, delivering a strong kick to his back. Candi formed three caramel disks and threw them at him. Overdrive vanished in a flash of red pixels and appeared above them, conjuring up small blobs of red pixels and sending them at the four combatants. Sorceress blocked the ones sent her way with her magic, Swizzle formed an energy shield over himself, and Candi and Adorabeezle leaped out of the line of fire. Adorabeezle jumped up to where Overdrive was floating, grabbed onto the man's coat, and dragged him down to the ground. Sorceress used the opportunity to split into three duplicates of herself and shoot magic at him from all sides, almost hitting Adorabeezle as well.

"Hey, watch it!" Adorabeezle said angrily.

"My apologies." Sorceress said breathlessly.

Swizzle flew towards Overdrive so he could attack him, but Overdrive managed to grab Swizzle's arm and slam him into the ground. Adorabeezle slashed Overdrive on his back with her claws, and then Candi punched him from behind. Overdrive disappeared in a flash of red pixels and then came back into view above their heads, panting a bit. A red aura suddenly filled the area, slowing everything down. Overdrive teleported rapidly around the the top of the mentos, striking Candi, Swizzle, Adorabeezle, and Sorceress several times in turn. Once the spell wore off, they were all flung back from the built up force of the attacks. They got up, and Sorceress teleported all four of them above Overdrive's head. Candi stomped on him, Swizzle shot two energy blasts, Adorabeezle slashed with her claws, and Sorceress struck with her magic blasts.

Overdrive separated himself from his attackers, looking a little unsteady. Sorceress didn't let up. She flew towards him, aiming a blow at his head. However, Overdrive ducked under it and punched the game villain squarely in the gut, sending her falling down onto the mentos. Swizzle and Adorabeezle performed a combo attack. Adorabeezle gave Swizzle a leg up and propelled the boy forward. Swizzle succeeded where Sorceress had failed, delivering a powerful energy strike to Overdrive. Overdrive flew back and struck the mentos with a mighty thump. He slowly sat up, breathing heavily. He had reached the end of his strength.

"Ex... Excellent." Overdrive muttered weakly.

Swizzle glared at Overdrive.

"Your reign of terror is up. We're finishing this once and for all." Swizzle said.

Swizzle turned to Sorceress and nodded. Sorceress nodded and charged up a crackling magic blast. She threw it at Overdrive, and Overdrive yelled out as he was hit, his eyes filled with pain before closing.

"Ciao, my king." Sorceress whispered.

The magic did it's work, and Overdrive collapsed, quietly exhaling for the last time. Sorceress bowed her head in a moment of respect.

"Are you okay?" Adorabeezle asked gently, seeing the woman's pained expression.

Sorceress sighed.

"Not really. I've just lost everyone I was beginning to care about." Sorceress replied.

Suddenly, Sorceress started to fade at a fast pace.

"Sorceress!" Candi cried out.

Sorceress turned to Candi with a small smile.

"You knew this would happen... it's fine... take care of each other." Sorceress said weakly.

Sorceress then faded completely. Candi took in a breath, keeping in her horror at killing Sorceress, even if it meant saving the timeline. She turned back to Adorabeezle.

"Everything's back to normal, right?" Candi asked.

Adorabeezle nodded.

"Yes, everything is back to normal. Since Overdrive never takes over the arcade, the timeline goes back to how it happened. Ralph saves Sugar Rush, Turbo is revived in a month from now, and Sugar Rush gets formed in 2108." Adorabeezle replied.

Swizzle sighed in relief.

"Good." Swizzle said.

Adorabeezle nodded in agreement.

"Now, let's go home." Adorabeezle said.

Candi and Swizzle nodded, and they and Adorabeezle got back into the DeLorean. They disappeared through time just as Ralph flew onto the top of the mentos.


End file.
